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MEMBERSHIP

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is headquartered in Barbados and is owned by 28 member countries, including 19 regional borrowing members, four regional non-borrowing members and five non-regional members.

BORROWING MEMBER COUNTRIES

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Virgin Islands.

REGIONAL NON-BORROWING MEMBER COUNTRIES

Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela.

NON-REGIONAL MEMBERSHIPCanada, China, Germany, Italy, and United Kingdom.

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PURSUING POVERTY REDUCTION

Poverty reduction is the core mission and work of the Caribbean Development Bank and its work in line with the central thrust of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Despite noticeable development gains, poverty remains a major concern in the Caribbean, with at least one in five persons living in poverty. However, poverty rates are not distributed uniformly and range from 2% in higher income countries, like Cayman Islands, to over 55% in poorer countries, such as Haiti. CDB, in partnership with communities throughout the Region, is tackling the challenge of poverty by offering much needed loans, grants, equity investments, guarantees, policy advice, and technical assistance to its most vulnerable Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs). Funds are utilised from the Ordinary Capital Resources and Special Fund Resources, of which the Special Development Fund (SDF) accounts for 90%. The SDF, therefore, is a critical source of funding.

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The SDF promotes interventions that seek to:

a) build resilience against climate change and natural disaster events, which undergirds environmental sustainability;

b) strengthen capabilities in economic and social infrastructure;c) advance gender equality;d) strengthen governance through improvements in institutional

capacity;e) expand private sector operations through a strengthened

regulatory environment and supporting innovation;f) deepen regional cooperation and integration; and g) enhance organisational efficiency and effectiveness.

MEETING NEEDS, SUPPORTING GROWTH

SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT FUND UNIFIED

CDB’s SDF was established in 1970 and offers funding for high-priority development needs.

In 1983, the SDF Unified [SDF (U)] was created to streamline the Fund’s operations. Funding is replenished every four years. The SDF (U) has its own governance structure with an Annual General Meeting of Contributors, and a four-year replenishment cycle. During negotiations for the replenishment of the Fund, CDB and contributors take into consideration the economic and social situation in the BMCs, the international and regional environment, and CDB’s capacity when areas of priority are agreed.

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The SDF (U) is currently in its ninth cycle, covering the period 2017-2020. Core themes for this cycle are:

a) supporting the SDG targets relevant to the Caribbean;b) building resilience to climate change and natural hazards

events, and promoting sustainability;c) regional cooperation and support for regional public goods.

The three cross-cutting themes are:

a) gender equality,b) good governance,c) environmental sustainability.

SDF (U) supports three programmes directly from its resources. These are:

a) Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF),b) Caribbean Technological Consultancy Services (CTCS), andc) Haiti.

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BASIC NEEDS TRUST FUND

The BNTF is the Bank’s flagship programme for direct interventions to reduce poverty and vulnerability through enhanced access to basic social and economic infrastructure and the development of skills to enhance employability, community management, and engagement.

Persistent poverty and inequality influence human vulnerability and affect multi-dimensional progress. BNTF financing is focused on most vulnerable communities in the beneficiary country and addresses poverty as a multidimensional issue. In recent times, the programme has incorporated considerations of gender equality, environmental sustainability, disaster risk reduction, good governance, and capability enhancement.

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CARIBBEAN TECHNOLOGICAL CONSULTANCY SERVICES

The CTCS is a regional consultancy network that supports entrepreneurship and the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises.

It contributes to CDB’s thrust in promoting private sector operations by providing technical expertise to organisations and enterprises in BMCs. Services include project planning, evaluating new and expanding businesses, training, resolving production and maintenance problems, and quality control applications.

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SUPPORT FOR HAITI

Haiti became a member of the Bank in 2007. CDB and Haitian authorities agreed on set asides for the Haiti programme and country strategy in SDF 7, SDF 8 and SDF 9.

The Bank’s work in Haiti has been implemented in collaboration with development partners, such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, which both have extensive experience in Haiti. In 2018, the Bank established the Haiti Country Office and has pursued autonomous programming.

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JAMAICA

Jamaica is the largest island of the Commonwealth Caribbean and the third largest of the Greater Antilles. It is located 558 miles (898 kilometres, km) southeast of Miami, Florida, 90 miles (144.8 km) south of Cuba and 100 miles (160.9 km) southwest of Haiti.

The island lies at 18° North latitude and 77° West longitude and has an area of 4,411 square miles (11,420 km2). Its highest point is the Blue Mountain Peak, which rises 7,402 feet (2,256 metres) above sea level. The capital city, Kingston, located on the island’s southeast coast, also serves as Jamaica’s major commercial centre. The natural harbour in Kingston is the seventh largest in the world. In 2018, the total population of Jamaica was estimated at 2.7 million of which 53.9% resides in urban areas while 46.1% lives in rural areas.

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Jamaica has a Human Development Index value of 0.732 for 2018, which indicates that it is in the high human development category and is 97th among 188 countries and territories. It is also an upper-middle income country. However, the country continues to be challenged with low growth and high public debt, albeit declining. Similar to other Caribbean Small Island Development States, the country is vulnerable to natural disasters.

According to the World Bank’s Doing Business indicators, Jamaica is the best Caribbean country to do business in and is sixth in the world for starting a business.

Jamaica’s economic freedom score is 68.6, making its economy the 39th freest in the 2019 Index. Its overall score has decreased by 0.5 points, with a drop in the score for judicial effectiveness outpacing an improvement in government integrity. Jamaica is ranked 5th among 32 countries in the Americas Region, and its overall score is above the regional and world averages.

Key developments in 2019

Real gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have grown by 1.2% in the year to September. This expansion reflected growth in tourism, manufacturing, and finance services. The increase in tourism was evident from a higher number of stop-over visitor arrivals, associated with additional airlift to the island and an expansion in the hotel room stock. The larger manufacturing activity was due to bigger output in the food, beverages and tobacco industries and higher production of petroleum products. Headline inflation increased slightly

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to 3.9% in the year to December, compared with 3.7% in 2018. This outturn largely reflected higher agricultural food price inflation that was partly offset by lower energy and transport price inflation. The unemployment rate fell to 7.2% in October. This is the lowest recorded level of unemployment – even as the labour force expanded. The moderation in the unemployment rate was attributed in part to a rise in the number of persons employed, in the manufacturing and finance sectors.

The prospects for the economy are positive: modest growth of 0.9% is projected for 2020. Tourism, manufacturing, agriculture, and construction are the sectors most likely to drive growth in the short term. The strong macroeconomic fundamentals, low unemployment, stable inflation and credit expansion also augur well for the economy.

CDB’s operations in Jamaica

The Bank’s strategy for Jamaica is grounded in supporting the country’s development agenda. CDB has developed the current Country Strategy 2017-2021 for Jamaica built on four pillars:

a) enhance educational quality and improve the effectiveness of social protection;

b) enhance governance and citizen security;c) increase inclusive economic growth and competitiveness

reforms; andd) strengthen environmental sustainability and energy security.

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The Bank’s strategy is consistent with the country’s medium-term development plan Vision 2030 Jamaica–National Development Plan, which outlines, inter alia, a set of strategies to reduce poverty in line with the Poverty Reduction Strategic Plan, 2008-2030. Vision 2030 Jamaica targets poverty reduction to less than 10% by 2030 and provides together with the Jamaica Social Protection Strategy (2014) the overarching framework for social protection and poverty reduction. One of the two goals of the new national policy on poverty is to eradicate extreme (food) poverty by 2022.

From the beginning of its operations to end 2019, CDB approved US$883.6 million in loans and grants to Jamaica over the period 1970 to September 2017.

The operations were channelled to several sectors, including:

a) agriculture and rural development;b) tourism;c) education;d) physical infrastructure rehabilitation, transportation and

communication;e) financial services; andf) multi-sector, includes policy-based loans.

As at December 31, 2019, approvals for Jamaica accounted for 14.3% of CDB’s total approvals; making the country the largest recipient of assistance among CDB’s 19 BMCs.

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GrierfieldA NEW ROAD OPENS THE COMMUNITY TO THE WORLD

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The more than 2,000 residents of Grierfield in St. Ann, Jamaica, can now traverse the community after the rehabilitation of the only access road.

The road was in very bad condition as it was never rehabilitated in its more than half a century of use. When Grierfield emerged from resettlement of residents due to the Kaiser Bauxite mining in the 1960s, the road was never handed over to the Government.

Norma Brooks, who has lived in Grierfield for 45 years, recalls having to wear plastic bags over her shoes in order to preserve them, while walking along the old road, noting that a few pairs were destroyed in the process.

Children also had a difficult time getting to school, with some having to wear a pair of shoes along the way, and then changing into another pair once they reach school.

Funded by a US$545,000 grant from the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF), the road works of 3.9 kilometres, including installation of a drainage system and cleaning of culverts, was completed in 2018.

“When we complete road projects, the whole community benefits. The elderly can access the medical facilities and basic services; the farmers can take their produce to the market and bring fertiliser in,” says BNTF Acting Portfolio Manager at CDB, George Yearwood.

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The new road has brought vibrancy and has helped to improve the finances of the members of the community, who are now able to undertake commerce in a more manageable way. President for the Grierfield Farmers’ Group, Clement Daniels says that the rehabilitated roadway has made it easier for the more than 100 farmers in the community to access their fields and take their produce to market. The quiet farming community produces ackee, yam, pepper, June plum, cane, banana, and cherry. The residents have also ventured into manufacturing wines, sauces, and pickles.

Previously, getting a taxi to transport farm produce would have attracted an exorbitant cost; however, with the new road, the fare has significantly decreased. The taxi fare to the nearest town has fallen from US$3.75 to $1.15, while it was not easy to get a taxi in the first place and drivers were anxious about damage to their cars.

Secretary of the Farmers’ Group, June Stennett, welcomes the ease of access to transportation. “The road is now superb and taxis are willing to take you home,” she says.

For elderly citizens, the new road is a game changer as they are now better able to traverse the roadway, and get to their medical appointments. For many residents, the new roadway has provided an avenue for wellness, as it is being used as an exercise trail.

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Knowing how the rehabilitated road has changed their lives, residents agree that it needs to be kept in good shape. The Jamaica Social Investment Fund, which had overseen the road works, also provided training in maintenance to community members as part of the project.

Looking along the road, former councillor for the area Lloyd Garrick, who had advocated for the road rehabilitation for decades says:

“A DREAM COME TRUE!”

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Old Harbour Primary School GETS OFF TO A FLYING START

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Three years after removing the shift system, the Old Harbour Primary School in St. Catherine is seeing positive results across the board. It has proven to be a turning point in the life of the institution, so much so, that the inspection rating undertaken by the National Education Inspectorate, an independent government body, improved from unsatisfactory in 2012 to satisfactory in 2018.

“For the last three years, the school has improved in all subject areas,” Principal George Goode says, noting a 16% increase in passes for subjects such as mathematics.

Established in the 18th century, Old Harbour Primary School is one of the oldest schools in Jamaica and the first one to be established in the town. The school changed its location in 2000 to facilitate more students, as it was bursting at the seams. But even after the move, the number of classrooms was not sufficient to provide a full school programme to students: 1,600 to 1,800 students were taught on shifts, while teachers had to handle 60 students, on an average.

Principal George Goode recalls that during the two-shift system some parents would drop off students on the afternoon shift from as early as 7 a.m., five hours before they were due to be at school. Conversely, students from the morning shift would hang around until late evening

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when they could be picked up; this created a disturbance for the other students in class and there were also the attendant risks of leaving children in an unsupervised situation.

The elimination of the shift system was made possible through an almost US$0.5 million grant from the Basic Needs Trust Fund of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for the construction of a new 10-classroom block in 2016 and introduction of several social programmes.

Generally renovated and painted, the school became disabled-friendly by installing wheelchair ramps and rails. Both the canteen operations and garbage disposal were improved, as well as bathroom facilities for teachers and students. The project also provided training in sanitation and hygiene and helped with the

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literacy programme, equipping the school with laptop computers, books and a projector.

Operations Officer at CDB, Karl Pivott, says the improvement at the school was not only geared at assisting the Government of Jamaica’s policy to eliminate the shift system, but also targeted at poverty reduction in line with the Bank’s strategy.

“We, at CDB, think this money is well spent, as the improvements to the school are benefiting students from vulnerable communities,” Pivott says. “The improved academic performance and the greater focus on extracurricular activities, shows the impact that adequate learning space has on the students.”

The end of the shift system increased the contact hours from five to seven with teachers, while teacher to student ratio went down to one

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to 34. “Even though we don’t have the ideal situation, the change in the school from unsatisfactory to satisfactory, the results moving up, give the teachers that level of satisfaction and encouragement to push a little harder,” Goode points out.

However, academic improvement is not the only offshoot, the project has. “School is not just about the academics. The shift system also impacted the social programmes, such as clubs and societies that are used for the development of the students, and the improvement of their life skills, and to unearth the talents within them,” the principal says.

The school now boasts 15-20 clubs and societies compared with five beforehand. One of them, the Red Cross Club, offers support to the Mustard Seed Home for children with disabilities by donating canned goods and toys garnered through collection drives.

Poverty and violence are two stumbling blocks that the school is facing in the development of its students. Many of the students come from poor communities with one in three students are on the Programme for Enhancement through Health and Education that provides cash transfer to poor families. Many students also show behavioural challenges.

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The school organised empowerment sessions with stakeholder groups such as the Child Protection and Family Services Agency, the National Parenting Support Commission and parents. As part of the project, teachers were trained in special needs education and a ‘Break the silence campaign’ taught teachers how to identify signs of abuse and encouraged students to talk about this severe issue. As a result, more and more students are now willing to break the silence about being abused.

“CDB and JSIF [Jamaica Social Investment Fund, which executed the project] did not just come here to institute a building but facilitate programmes that have been very impactful and far-reaching,” says Principal Goode.

In physical education, the schools harvests its new potential, having produced the island’s top 100-metre (class three) high-school athlete, Christopher Scott. When the one shift system was introduced, he was able to train much longer, and was eventually discovered at the National Primary School Athletic Championships. In turn, he assisted in the unveiling of Usain Bolt’s statue in Kingston in July 2017 at the invitation of the Hon. Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports.

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New Horizons Skills Centre A GATEWAY FOR “UNEMPLOYABLE” PEOPLE TO THE LABOUR MARKET

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Chris Patrick Stanford is proud of his job as a welder in the Engineering Department of the New Horizons Skills Centre in Spanish Town, St. Catherine.

A graduate of the institution, Stanford credits the skills centre for changing his life. He is one of approximately 300 youngsters who have received training from the centre over the past six years.

The institution is based in Wynter’s Pen, a tough inner-city community of Spanish Town, with very few opportunities for employment. Developing from its origin of a boys’ home, the centre started in 2006 offering programmes, such as electrical installation, general construction, masonry, aquaponics, plumbing, solar electric and heating technology, welding, and most recently, social enterprise.

A year after the programmes started, Hurricane Dean destroyed the skills centre. In the aftermath, the centre operated in a makeshift structure that could not accommodate training equipment and machinery for quality training. Funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) with a US$450,000 grant from the Bank’s Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF), a new training building was constructed in 2013, executed by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund.

Stanford described his nine months of training at the centre as invaluable. He was even more delighted to have received permanent employment with the institution upon completion of his training.

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He explained that upon leaving high school, he was placed on a number of waiting lists for acceptance to several engineering schools. He was afforded the opportunity to attend the New Horizons Skills Centre and he said, “it changed my life.”

At the New Horizons Skills Centre, persons as young as age 16 are accepted into training, helping them to acquire life skills and a trade. While the training is opened to the community, during the day you will find mostly males there. Both genders train at night.

The centre is the only option for people living in the neighbourhood to get training. The next closest training facility is some 15 km or two taxi rides away, which translates into the students paying some US$360 for transportation monthly – very costly for young people.

In recent years, the institution has added a new dimension, the production and servicing of machines, which is providing employment for some graduates.

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Explaining this transition, the head of New Horizons, Michael Barnett says that having provided training for the young people over a number of years, he realised that they were able to use their skills to do more. They were trained to take on engineering projects and they learnt how to build and service the equipment.

This filled a business niche as well as provided employment for some of the graduates, such as Stanford. Prior to this venture many struggled to get jobs as they were seen as not having the requisite experience, or because their address was viewed unfavourably.

The centre is now partnering with Shavout International Holding Company Ltd, a local company that produces naturally grown produce and agriproducts and exports to over 15 countries.

In 2015, the major building on the property was transformed into a small factory. The employees are mostly past students who undertake the tea-processing and agro-processing of materials for tea powders, spices, and castor oil. Within months of start-up, the company won the Bold Leader Award, a Jamaican business prize, and this winning streak has continued.

“The partnership between the skills centre and a social company is a holistic model to bring young persons into the labour market. Coming from an area with a bad reputation, opportunities to work are scarce for these young persons even after training. At New Horizons, trainees build a CV already on the training and become employable elsewhere,” says BNTF Acting Portfolio Manager at CDB, George Yearwood.

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Barnett emphasises how impactful the project has been on the community noting that “the maintenance manager; the technicians; and all the machine operators are past students of the institution. He says that without the training many of them could have been without a job.

The factory has employed over 50 of the institution’s 300 past students since its opening. The students are able to gain valuable work experience, which they can use in their resume. “We train people to leave. We are trying to get people to upscale themselves and their lives,” he says.

Barnett reveals that much of the equipment used in the factory is made at the institution. For example, in 2018, the school manufactured a machine that transplants five million onion seedlings daily to an agro processor – the only machine of its kind in Jamaica.

The centre’s students, among them Stanford, also produced a machine, which sorts over two tonnes of onions hourly to another local agro-supplier.

“I love my job, I am very passionate about it, because I like building things. To wake up every day [knowing] that I have the skill to put things together to make it work is a joyous feeling,” Stanford says.

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Mineral Heights Primary A SCHOOL THAT EXCELS

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The start of the 2018 academic year marked a turning point in the 29-year history of the Mineral Heights Primary School in Clarendon, Jamaica, as for the first time since the 1990s, all students were accommodated on the same shift.

The school that was built for 650 students was overcrowded with 1,430 students, while each teacher had to handle 52 pupils. Students were taught in two shifts with reduced hours per day.

Principal Lanzeford Howell explains that the Parent-Teacher Association had reached out to the Jamaica Social Investment Fund to help solve the chronic space shortage of just 18 available classrooms. Proposed to the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), a grant of some US$530,000 from the Bank’s Basic Needs Trust Fund financed the construction of 12 new classrooms and a sanitation block, which made an end to the shift system possible.

Howell notes that class sizes have dropped from 52 to 35 students, while students enjoy the full programme of seven hours instead of only five hours as it was before. The school has also put in place a programme for children who are physically challenged. A new classroom has been tailored specifically to their needs.

“The aim of the school is to give children a solid foundation so that they may move on from Mineral Heights Primary, get secondary level education and do well; ultimately breaking the cycle of poverty in some of these areas,” Principal Howell says.

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The Mineral Heights Primary School is situated in a middle-income community, but many of its students are from poorer communities nearby. About a third of the families receive Government’s assistance through the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education, a social intervention that targets the most needy and vulnerable in society.

“Education is a cornerstone for the social and economic development of CDB’s Borrowing Member Countries. All children should enjoy a full curriculum and have the opportunity to attend extra-curricular activities to develop their capacities to become accomplished members of the society. This contributes to the reduction of poverty and the improvement of livelihoods and life chances,” says CDB Director of Projects, Daniel Best.

The increased contact time with teachers and smaller class sizes have had significant impact on the education of the students. Vice-Principal Marsha Anderson notes that the school has recorded its greatest percentage of mastery level in numeracy at 85% this year in the school’s history, improving from a previous low of 57% to 60% and 96% in literacy, up from about 91%. With three of the top ten students in Clarendon, the school scored the best results in the parish. In addition, one student was awarded a government scholarship in the 2019 external examinations, the Primary Exit Profile.

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Parents and students now have renewed interest in the school. “It has transformed the ethos of the school, the pride with which the children walk through the gates,” Principal Howell reveals.

Being off the shift system has resulted in an expanded co-curricular programme. The school now participates in quiz; debating; spelling bee, and the chess team is the champion for the parish of Clarendon. Mineral Heights Primary is also champion for the Clarendon Parish Library Quiz Competition as well as the Mico University Mathematic Olympiad competition.

Students have also been excelling in sports. “We have students moving on to high school through track and field scholarships,” the Principal notes with delight.

“We are doing well, as a result of us now being able to do more co-curricular activities. Mineral Heights Primary, through this assistance, has been transformed. Educationally, we are better. The teachers are more comfortable and the parents feel proud of the school,” Howell says.

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TrenailSAFE WATER FOR TRENAIL RESIDENTS AND BEYOND

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Some 3,400 residents of Trenail in Maggotty, St. Elizabeth, now have access to safe, potable water after the rehabilitation of the water catchment facility of the parish council, which was not working for many years.

Resident Vicas Dunkley recalls that the catchment facility was originally built in the 1940s. When it started deteriorating in the 1980s, it could not hold water for any long periods as it leaked profusely. There were also small dead animals, such as birds and frogs in the tank. The chlorination chamber was not functioning either, making the water unsafe to drink.

To avoid drinking from this unsafe source, residents were dependent on harvesting rainwater on their own roof or paying as much as US$15 for water trucks to fill their 400-gallon tanks, which lasted just one week per family home. For those who did not have a tank, US$3.75 filled a drum. However, others continued to use the facility, praying for the best.

Most households practiced archaic sanitation before the rehabilitation of the water facility as pit latrines for waste disposal were widely used. While some households had water closets, residents were unable to use them due to limited water access.

Funded by a US$237,000 grant from the Basic Needs Trust Fund of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the 80,000-gallon tank was rehabilitated. A chain-link perimeter fencing was erected around the catchment site for increased security. The 12-month works completed in

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June 2017 also included the installation of a sand filter, a chlorination system, three standpipes and two 1,000-litre plastic tanks.

The rehabilitation of the water supply system benefits the whole community, but it particularly affects women and children, as they usually are the ones who need to transport the precious commodity. The functioning water facility gives them more time to work and study. “By investing in a water project like Trenail, we are not only providing access to the most basic commodity, but also helping people out of poverty,” says Operations Officer at CDB, Karl Pivott.

Under the project, piped water is sent to a central location in the community where it can now be accessed by residents. Dunkley explains that with the improved water supply, children now have an easier time getting ready for school as water is now readily available.

Daintyann Barrett-Smith, Social Officer at the Jamaica Social Investment Fund, which executed the project, explains that the rehabilitation project, while relatively low in cost had high impact on the community.

Residents are delighted with the fact that the tank is helping to facilitate crop irrigation as many of them are small farmers. “Water is life, food is not all,” one resident expresses.

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Yet the ripple effect go beyond Trenail: As the community has the only public water catchment facility in the area, the surrounding districts benefit too. When water reserves run low in the districts of Retirement, Hominy Hall, Bethsalem and Maroon Town, residents can use the Trenail facility as a back-up.

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Bull Savannah & SouthfieldNEW METHODS MAKE FARMERS TO BUSINESS PEOPLE IN ST. ELIZABETH

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Farmers in Bull Savannah and Southfield in the parish of St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, are reaping the benefits of investment in irrigation and training in farm methodologies.

St. Elizabeth is one of the driest regions in Jamaica and climate change is exacerbating the situation, hitting the parish with protracted droughts. The farmers, mainly small landholders; produce, among other crops, cantaloupe and honeydew melon, two crops that need a lot of water, but are renowned for the quality. The produce is sold to higglers and the nation-wide purveyor A.L. Golaub and Sons that are supplying hotels. Not to lose the harvest at times of a drought, the farmers needed to buy water at high prices. However, buying water did not save the whole harvest. As the farmers had only relatively small water containers, they lost a significant amount of the produce.

President of the Bull Savannah farmers’ group, Tracey Powell, recounts that periods of drought recorded in 2019 was among the worst she has experienced, but the drip irrigation system, installed in the first half of 2019, while applying fertigation – using fertiliser with irrigation – made the difference. “Thanks to the system, we were able to reap a successful crop,” says Powell.

Due to the system, farming became less manual and can be administered with just the turn of a valve for 300 farmers in both communities that received drip irrigation systems on their farming land. In addition to the new infrastructure, training in farming know-how was the transformational moment for the participants.

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“Back in the day, we were just farmers. But we are now businessmen and women,” Powell declares.

In neighboring Southfield, farmers also experienced extreme drought in 2019 – five months long. The new system in place saved the harvest. Fay Mulgrave, President of the Southfield farmers group where three of four members are women, highlights that the new system has significantly transformed their activities from being predominantly manual, and is helping with time management. Many women in the group are the breadwinners for their families, and have second jobs. As such, they rely on farming to help to feed their dependents.

“We see that women are taking the lead and a lot of women are the breadwinners for their families. It sets a new dynamic in motion to better the livelihoods of families. When families are lifted out of poverty, this has ripple effects to their communities as a whole and beyond. For example higglers and drivers are also making more business,” says Deidre Clarendon, Chief of the Social Sector Division at the Caribbean Development Bank, which funded the project with some US$415,000 from the Bank’s Basic Needs Trust Fund.

Best practices was an essential part of the programme. “We have a responsibility to put into use the practices taught to us,” Powell says and adds,“as we know, we supply produce from the farm, straight to the table, and what we do here in the farm today, might end up on your table tomorrow.”

The farmers say they now have a better understanding for the various chemicals and their use, hence they have been able to be more efficient in making purchases and application of the formulations.

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Additionally, prior to the project, they were not keeping a record of expenditures. With the farm management books received through the project, the farmers are now recording and keeping account of what is spent, as well as their yield and profits.

Coordinated by the Rural Agricultural Development Authority and Jamaica Social Investment Fund, which was also executing the overall project, the training touched upon many needed skills of farmers – from farm and crop management, spray calibration, and integrated pest management over land preparation and food handling to financial management and record keeping.

In Bull Savannah, “150 farmers are smiling today because of the funding of this project; and we would love for other persons to benefit from this project,” Powell says.

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Meanwhile, the project beneficiaries have formed a charity group, the Bull Savannah Benevolent Society. “Our first initiative undertaken when we started was to have a Christmas treat for the community, where we tried to give everyone a gift from the Benevolent Society,” Powell informs.

The Society continued their work by having a back-to-school treat, which saw over 200 children receiving supplies. Additionally, the farmers have sought to educate other farmers who did not benefit from the training.

“We are happy for this opportunity to uplift ourselves, which will help us to uplift our community, and eventually the world,” Powell says, adding “since the CDB [came in] our lives have improved.”

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Editor: Lothar Mikulla/CDBWriter (stories): Tomeica Gunn/Jamaica Information Service (JIS)Design: Blueprint Creative Inc.

Photos:Donald Delahaye/JIS (cover)Lothar Mikulla/CDB (13, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 25, 27, 31, 34)Kishmar Shepherd/Nuvisual for CDB (3)Michael Sloley /JIS (36, 39, 41, 44, 45)iStock (6, 7, 8, 9)

Credits

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CARIBBEAN DEVELOPMENT

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